Yup, a brass knuckle wine opener. I’ve seen a lot of commentary about this online – Samurai sommelier jokes, gang members who don’t like beer – but, I can’t seem to find a place to buy one.
Jonathan Sabine designed with what he calls the Bourgeois Brass Knuckles in 2007. He describes the product as “a cross between two iconic objects whose cultural and socio-economic associations lie at opposite ends of the spectrum from one another.”
While I like his design, I object to his statement – wine is for refined rich folks and poor people are violent? Wine is for everyone, even nut-jobs who like to wear brass knuckles! If I had these brass knuckles I’d use them to open a bottle of brass monkey
A Thirsty Spirit 
Hey smarty spirit,
This guy has clearly just designed a more lethal pair of brass knuckles. Between this and the guns in bars I think we should be careful of where we drink.
Also–this blog does a really good job of telling folks that wine is for everyone!
What’s the history of that class distinction stuff? Has wine always been associated with aristocracy–and if not–when did that happen?
Thanks! The question of class distinction varies across cultures. For some reason (that requires additional research on my part), folks in the U.S. often think of wine drinking as fancy or high falutin’, but in other cultures (especially in the Old World), wine drinking is for everyone. I always think of the little mom and pop stores in Italy, where if you’re paying attention, you might find bottles of homemade wine in Pellegrino bottles.